Ideas for Making a Bee Hive for a School Project

Have the classroom buzzing for joy by making a beehive at home. Beehives are fun to make and there are many different ways to make them. They can be a simple art project for younger kids, or for older kids make a real working beehive. Be creative and have fun and the project is sure to get a buzz out of all.

By making a beehive out of a clay pot and a bottom saucer, you not only have a great looking beehive, but also a pot in which to hold treasures. Begin with the bottom saucer. This will be the lid of the beehive. Starting at the outside bottom of the saucer, hot glue rope around the entire saucer in a spiraling fashion until you reach the top edge. Now add rope to the bottom of the saucer, also in a spiral fashion. Set aside for now. To make a handle for the lid, spray paint a 1 inch wooden ball golden and hot glue it to the top center of the bottom saucer. Next, hot glue rope around the outside of the entire clay pot in the same spiral that you glued the saucer. Spray paint entire pot and saucer yellow or gold if wanted. Paint an opening to the beehive, a half circle, on the bottom of the clay pot using black paint. Place the clay pot right side up and place the saucer wrong side up on top of the clay pot as a lid.

There are many ways to build a real usable beehive.See the resources for plans to help you in building a beehive. There are many shapes and styles from which to choose including plans for beginners to immediate woodworkers. Having a real beehive is a great school project, but can also help out a personal garden by aiding in pollination. By having a beehive of your own, it will also give you your own supply of honey. Be sure to read the instructions and details carefully and get help if needed.

Beehive puppets are fun for younger children and simple to make. Start with white or yellow card stock paper and cut into beehive shape. Decorate your beehive using bubble wrap. Cut out the bubble wrap into beehive shape and glue onto the card stock. Paint the beehive yellow and paint an opening at the bottom in black. Or, use Honeycomb-brand cereal and glue it onto the card stock beehive. To make into a puppet, glue a large craft stick onto the back.

Bow up a balloon to the desired size of the beehive. Rip up news paper into strips about 1 inch wide. Prepare a glue mixture by mixing 1/4 cup Elmer's glue with 1/2 cup water. Soak newspapers strips in glue mixture for a few minutes. As you use each strip, remove excess glue by sliding it between two fingers. Lay each strip around the balloon by overlapping them to make sure there are no holes. Cover the entire balloon in the first layer and let it dry over night. Repeat the same process for a second layer. Pop the balloon inside to release the air. Using tissue paper, cut into 2 inch strips, tape around the beehive starting at the bottom and continue up the hive overlapping the tissue. Add candy to make into a pinata.